Bhandara rape and murder case: cops remain clueless

The police remain clueless about the culprits behind the alleged rape and murder of three minor girls at Murmadi village in Bhandara district on February 14.

Initially, the post mortem repot claimed that the three school-going sisters---aged six, nine and eleven -- were raped and murdered. However, the forensic reports revealed that they were not raped led the police to investigate the matter in a new direction.

Several fact-finding teams are pouring in to the sleepy outpost for gathering information and other details. A team of National Commission for Women, led by Nirmal Samant Prabhavalkar, visited the village on Thursday and met the mother of the victims Madhuri Borkar.

The team said that there was so much outrage in the village, yet the witnesses are not coming forward. The team expressed its displeasure over the role of police and termed it as being 'insensitive'.

The three sisters, who studied in the local school, went missing on February 14 from their school. Their bodies were found in a well near the village on February 16.

Some villagers told the police that the sisters were last seen in a van. But the police still have no clue who was in it to whom it belonged to. The clueless district police, incidentally, led by superintendent of police Aarati Singh, are struggling to make headway in the investigation.

On Thursday, the senior Shiv Sena leader and legislator, Neelam Gorhe, also visited the village and met mother of the victims. She accused the police for the delay in making headway in the case.

"Even after 15 days, the police failed to arrest the killers of the girls. Wonder how are the police proceeding with the investigations without any leads," she quipped.

Singh still maintained that they were close to cracking the case. "We have got some vital clues and hopeful to make a headway soon," she added. The Lakhni police have questioned and interrogated over 100 locals in this regard, so far.

Meanwhile, the director general of police (DGP), Sanjeev Dayal flew in here on Friday and rushed to Lakhni and Murmadi village. Dayal held a meeting with the senior police officials and reviewed the investigation.